Boppy Bare Naked Pillow

The one thing I really wanted when I brought my daughter home from the hospital about 3 ? years ago that no one had gifted to me and I had forgotten to pick up in one of my pregnant shopping sprees was a Boppy pillow. It was my first time nursing and I was feeling sore (little did I know that that happens even the second time around) and I hoped this breastfeeding positioning pillow would help my daughter latch on easier. So I sent my husband off to Target. It got some use then and now it's getting some more with baby number two, but I don't think I needed it.

What's a Boppy?
A Boppy pillow is a thick, firm slightly more closed C-shaped pillow that fits around a woman's waist to provide a resting spot for a baby while she nurses the child (it can also be used for any caregiver feeding a bottle). The idea is that the pillow will free up your arms (while seated) and provide the correct height for the child to better latch onto the nipple. The pillow is soft and washable and contains no straps or clasps. It simply sits around the waist. Boppy pillows are widely available in baby sections of most stores and in baby specialty shops. They run around $20-35 and come in different prints. The Boppy Bare Naked Pillow does not have a removable cover but additional pillowcases, including designer prints and fleece fabric, are sold separately for about $10-15. The inner stuffing of the Boppy pillow is 100% polyester and the outer cover is made of 100% cotton.

Baby number one and Boppy
For my daughter, I tried to use this pillow religiously at every feeding for the first month. I found that I still needed to cup my breast with the opposite hand and that it was inconvenient to sit with a firm pillow encircling me. For one thing, I couldn't fit in the glider I had in the nursery with this pillow. I also couldn't readily remove it to put my daughter in her bassinet or crib, because, let's be honest, newborns fall asleep when they nurse.

Standing up was very interesting, time-consuming, and involved lots of scooching to the edge of the sofa or recliner. Once up, I had to support my daughter with at least one hand so removing the pillow, which curls around my waist, with my other hand proved to be difficult. Instead, I'd try to walk around the house with the Boppy still attached while it slowly slipped off me. If I thought I waddled like a duck before I delivered, I must've been quite a quacky sight with my Boppy and baby in tow.

Sitting up in bed ended up being a somewhat better Boppy position. I did use this pillow at night with my daughter for a couple of months and, since the bassinet was at the side of my bed, it was easier to scooch over and quietly deposit my sleeping bundle. Still, it was awkward.

I ended up using this pillow as a back support. I would put the whole pillow behind me so that the top of the curved C would hit my shoulder blades. Like that, it was perfect for helping me sit up and not slouch while feeding my daughter. It also made my sofa less deep so I wouldn't sink into it and could more easily get up while cradling my daughter.

Baby number two loves his Boppy tummy time
For my son, I tried the Boppy again, hoping that, with more experience under my belt, it would work better this time around. I used it on and off in its intended way for about two weeks with little success. I found the same issues I had with my daughter. Still, when I needed a place to lay my infant or to prop him up, the Boppy is where I turned.

Other than as a firm back support, which even my husband vouches for, the one use of the Boppy that I've found invaluable is as a baby prop. My son is almost 7 months old and, though he much prefers the standing position of his Exersaucer these days, he still cannot sit up by himself and the Boppy pillow provides a nice cushioned spot for him to lay next to me on the sofa so we can "chat" or play finger games. I've used it this way since he was around 2 months old. It worked well to prop him up for photos, too!

The other nice "propping" feature is as a tummy time aid. Pediatricians recommend that you place your infant on his/her tummy several times throughout the day for about 5-10 minutes at a time. It helps them develop neck control and is a good precursor for crawling. I have often put my Boppy on the floor next to my daughter so that my son can lay on it and interact with his big sister and her toys. He will stay like that and even try to inch forward for a good 15 minutes at a time. Since it's often hard to get an infant to do his "tummy time" exercise for more than a couple of minutes, I think the Boppy works very well. I wish I would've used it more in this fashion with my daughter, who despised tummy time.

When I used this to prop my son, I often put a burp cloth under him so I wouldn't have to wash the pillow as often. It can be machine washed separately on the delicate cycle and tumble dried on low.

Overall impression
If you're planning on using this pillow solely as a waist wraparound to help you nurse, don't bother. It did alleviate some arm pressure the first few weeks, but you'd be better off doing some lightweight arm toning while pregnant. But if you plan on using it for your child's tummy time or as a firm back support pillow, the Boppy is worthwhile, especially if you plan on using it for more than one child. It has survived well over the past four years, through spitup, washings, and lots of leaning, and is still very firm.

3.5 stars.

As with any pillow, use caution when placing your child on a Boppy. Do not allow your child to fall asleep on the Boppy and always stay nearby.